The way of tea only for the hottest summer.

Since it’s hot and humid in Kyoto, everybody loves to eat ice cream, watermelon, and the shaved ice in summer.

Unfortunately, we only serve hot matcha tea in the traditional tea ceremony, but we are trying to make you feel cooler in summer in a tea room.

The flatter tea bowl for summer & the way of tea using the water

Almost all the customer of my tea house KOTO says it’s first time for them to see the flatter tea bowls. It’s the tea bowls limited in summer.

I usually prepare the ordinary tea bowls for them to try making powdered green tea by their selves since it’s a little difficult to use flatter ones for beginners, while I serve tea with seasonal tea bowls in the authentic tea ceremony experience.

It helps to make tea cooler in summer.

In addition, this is the way of tea using the water for summer called “arai-jakin”. Translating literally, it means “washing the white cloth”. We fill the flatter tea bowl with cold water in 70%, and throw them into Kensui (the container for the used water) before checking the tea whisk. The sound of the running water makes us feel cooler in summer.

The fresh water containers limited in summer

In Tanabata seasonal tea ceremony, I had used the big paper mulberry leaf for the lid of the cold water container. This is the special way of tea in summer.

The flatter water container is often used also in summer while the ordinary size is like this.

Showing the surface of the water widely, we try to make our guest feel cooler.

The crystal Japanese sweets in summer!

It’s “the stars at moon night”. Since we Kyoto citizen celebrate Tanabata festival in August again, we might be able to see the sweets which represents blue sky at night till the middle of August.

“crystal rainbow” made of agar.

The plate made of green bamboo looks fresh.

Can you imagine what it is?

It’s one of the tea utensils, the lid rest for the iron kettle.

It represents cold water by the fresh blue and openwork.

You may sometimes find the water container or tea bowls made of grass, too.

Since we have the air conditioner in our tea room, please feel relax after the long walking around temples or shrines.

You may find some new interesting methods in the summer tea room!